The present invention pertains to a card guide for holding a stack of cards to be separated by a card picker, and to a card picker for separating a single card from a stack of cards at a first location and moving the separated card to a second location. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a card guide and a card picker in which one or more air holes are positioned to permit air to be blown between cards in a stack as the end card of the stack is engaged by the card picker finger so as to assure separation of a single card from the stack of cards and smooth operation.
In various operations it is desired to separate a single card from a stack of cards at a first location and move the separated card to a second location. By way of example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/168,856, filed Oct. 9, 1998, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a plastic card transport apparatus and inspection system in which a stack of plastic cards, such as identification cards, credit cards, or automatic teller machine cards, is placed in an input tray, and a card picker moves the plastic cards one at a time to a card transport apparatus which transports the cards through an inspection station to an output station selected based on the results of the inspection. Such a system requires that a single card be separated from the stack of cards and transported for inspection. Likewise, a single card might be separated from a stack of paperboard cards and moved to a selected location for printing or other processing. Again, it is necessary to assure that only a single card is separated from the stack at any one time.
In one aspect, the present invention is a card guide for holding a stack of cards to be separated by a card picker. By xe2x80x9ccardsxe2x80x9d is meant objects having a uniform known thickness and uniform known periphery, such as height and width. The card guide includes a frame having a bottom member, an open front face, and an open rear face. The rear face is adapted to abut a transport surface along which a separated card is to be transported. The frame defines a space having a periphery substantially the same as the periphery of the cards. One side of the frame has a notch extending substantially the full height of the open rear face and extending from the rear face toward the front face by a distance at least as great as the thickness of the cards. The bottom member has at least one air hole through it, with its center spaced from the rear edge of the bottom member by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the cards and with a radius less than the thickness of the cards. Air from this air hole is blown between the end card and the next card, aiding in separation of the end card from the stack.
Preferably, the frame bottom member has a set of a plurality of air holes through it, for example three air holes, with the air holes being arranged in a line substantially parallel with the rear edge of the bottom member. Also preferably, the bottom member has a second set of air holes through it in a line parallel with the line of the first set of air holes. The line of the second set of air holes is preferably spaced from the line of the first set by a distance substantially equal to twice the thickness of the cards. Air from air holes of this second line is blown between the third card in the pack and the fourth card in the pack, fluttering the cards so that the separation of the end card from the pack is eased. In addition, the air blows away any debris that might be present between the cards, and also removes any static charge on the cards.
In another aspect, the present invention is a card picker for separating a single card from a stack of cards at a first location and moving the separated card to a second location, each card of the stack having substantially the same thickness and substantially the same periphery. The card picker includes a frame of the type set forth above, a picker finger for engaging the end card of the stack of cards on a side of such card and moving that card through the notch in one side of the frame, to move the card along the transport surface. Additionally, the card picker has an air source for supplying air to the air hole or holes.